Best Western Inn & Suites to open Friday

A four-story, 83-room Best Western Inn & Suites will be open to guests Friday, Feb. 26 according to a report from The Times Record. The building has been under construction for nearly 11 months and is located at 6500 Rogers Ave. Developer Tim Whitten says, “we’ve been sitting there for seven weeks trying to get the parking lot paved.”

The delay can be attributed to the rain and wintry weather that Fort Smith has been experiencing lately, but finally the parking lot is paved and the hotel is ready for business. Part of a retaining wall on the property collapsed last summer, and it’s rebuilding also pushed back the grand opening, Whitten said.

Lisa Whitten, vice president of Whitten Hospitality in Russellville, said the new hotel includes 21 large suites, each room complete with a microwave, refrigerator, and a 32-inch LCD television with high-definition cable. Also, high-speed wireless Internet will be available, she said. Other amenities at the hotel include a heated, outdoor pool, an exercise room, a conference room, and guest laundry.  A shuttle service to guests to travel two and from the Choctaw Casino in Pocola and the Fort Smith Regional Airport will also be offered by the Fort Smith Inn.

Whitten Hospitality has two additional Best Westerns under construction in Maumelle and Russellville. The company usually builds hotels for sale or operates them only until a buyer is found, but Lisa Whitten said Whitten Hospitality has long-term plans to operate the Fort Smith Inn & Suites.

In competition with the Rogers Ave. restaurant strip, the Fort Smith Inn will serve a hot breakfast to its guests with foods like breakfast burritos, croissants, bagels, bread and biscuits and gravy. Each week night, a “Manager’s Reception” will also take place, Lisa Whitten said.

The project began in the midst of the nation’s worst economic downturn in decades, but the Whitten’s and other developers didn’t wait.

“While the hospitality industry has fallen a bit, it is strong,” Lisa Whitten said. “Overall, it has fallen 10 to 15 percent, but nationally it has fallen 20 to 25 percent. Arkansas is holding.”  

Executive director of the Fort Smith Convention and Visitors Bureau Claude Legris said he doesn’t expect any other hotel or motel openings in the area this year. The hotel market averages about one new property a year (based on recent years) and 2009 openings included Homewood Suites and Candlewood Suites hotels on Phoenix Avenue.

Legris said, “The Best Western will help fill a need. I don’t think it’ll have a negative impact on occupancy and revenue in the city overall or at a particular property. You always have to be careful not to overbuild. I don’t see any other properties on the horizon in the short term, so we should be able to absorb this inventory.”

Whitten Hospitality’s new Best Western Inn & Suites plans to employ around 20 people in full and part-time positions.